A meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Commerce on Tuesday expressed its annoyance over the performance of the Commerce Ministry with respect to exports, rampant smuggling and delay in appointment of a permanent chief executive officer (CEO) of State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC).
The meeting of the committee, which was presided over by Syed Naveed Qamar, also conveyed its displeasure to the Commerce Ministry for "presenting inaccurate information" to the House on trade with Finland and not providing required briefs prior to the meeting.
Syed Agha Rafiullah, who was specially invited to the meeting, in his arguments pointed out that the Commerce Ministry in its reply with respect to trade with Finland misled the National Assembly by claiming that exports had increased by 15 per cent whereas the figures presented to the Standing Committee indicated that exports with Finland were on a path of continuous decline.
"When the Ministry gives wrong information it is a clear-cut breach of privilege of the House, and the Ministry attempted to mislead the committee," observed the Chairman of the Standing Committee.
Some of the members of the committee maintained that the officer responsible for the information should be taken to task.
Additional Secretary of Commerce, Akbar Bhatti, who faced a very tough time during the meeting, said that he would check the authenticity of the information placed before the committee, adding that the Ministry did not intend to mislead the committee.
"If there was something wrong in the information provided, we will offer an apology, but we are here to display the actual trend of exports," he added.
Two treasury members, Sajida Begum and Khurram Shahzad, also criticized the government for poor performance in exports, saying that Pakistan's export system was obsolete and needed to be improved and international buyers must be invited to Pakistan instead of Pakistani suppliers holding meetings in Dubai and London.
Khurram Shahzad, who is also an exporter from Faisalabad, said that exports in January 2020 declined because the country had no strategy to enhance exports.
He said those who displayed their products in the Expo Centres did not pay taxes, adding that taxes were only paid by exporters and the salaried class.
He said that 90 per cent of Pakistani departments/organizations had been running at a loss, adding that at least one organization should be established which made a profit.
Khurram Shahzad said the government was happy about "Look Africa Policy", but Africa did not have any purchasing power. He wondered why attention was not being focused on America and the EU which were the main buyers of Pakistani products.
"Pakistani exports for the last fifteen years, including the two years of the incumbent government, are going down and down and down. What is the role of the TDAP? Why are we spending so much on this organization with zero results?" he further asked.
Agha Rafiullah said that on the one hand the government was endeavouring to increase the country's exports but on the other hand smuggling had doubled since this government came to power. He said that smuggling was being done with impunity.
Sajida Begum, however, stated that smuggling was being done today just as in the past.
Rafiullah alleged that appointments in embassies were linked to Prime Minister's Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis, Zulfi Bukhari, "as he has a long list of friends".
The Chairman of the Standing Committee stated that when rate of duties was increased, the ratio of smuggling also increased. He cited the example of tyres which were now being imported into the country instead of being smuggled previously when the duty had been higher.
The Additional Secretary of Commerce responded that for the first time, the government had formulated a comprehensive anti-smuggling strategy, and all the agencies were part of this strategy.
Raising questions on the effectiveness of anti-smuggling strategy, the Chairman of the Standing Committee said that Iranian smuggled oil was being sold in Pakistan, and petrol pumps in Balochistan run on this oil.
Aslam Bothani said that a Commerce Minister should be appointed who knew the members of the Parliament instead of Abdul Razzak Dawood, who did not know the parliamentarians. However, his views were not supported by the Chairman of the Standing Committee, though he agreed to incorporate the views of Bothani in the minutes of the meeting.
The committee also expressed its displeasure over the Commerce Ministry not appointing a permanent or even an acting CEO of SLIC for the last two months despite clear instructions from the Committee.
Joint Secretary (Admin), Commerce Ministry, Maria Kazi, replied that the affairs of the SLIC were being run through the Board of Directors (BoD), adding that the summary had been sent to the Prime Minister with respect to additional charge which was now in the domain of the cabinet. However, she was stopped by the Additional Secretary, who stated that the BoD looked into policy matters and had nothing to do with day-to-day matters or operational affairs. The Committee directed the Ministry to appoint a head of the SLIC at the earliest.
According to the press release, the Committee discussed budgetary proposals of the Ministry of Commerce pertaining to the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the financial year 2020-2021, as required under Rule 201 (6) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly 2007.
The Additional Secretary of Ministry of Commerce informed the members of the committee about the details of the proposed PSDP for financial years 2020-2021.
He said that remodeling of Expo Centres at Peshawar and Quetta and expansion of Karachi's Expo Centre were proposed. He also briefed the Committee about the new schemes regarding remodeling of Karachi Expo Centre (II) & (III). After threadbare discussion the Committee unanimously recommended the first phase of Karachi Expo Centre and Peshawar Expo Centre for inclusion in the annual PSDP.
The Committee also discussed the matter of termination of the services of daily-wage employees of SLIC. The Committee was informed that SLIC had decided to make new recruitments and would announce 590 vacancies for recruitment of new employees. However the 152 daily-wage employees terminated earlier would be considered on priority basis by providing them 5% extra marks in the recruitment process.
The Committee recommended that the terminated employees with one year of service should be considered as a special case.
The meeting was attended by Ali Khan Jadoon, Muhammad Yaqoob Sheikh, Muhammad Aslam Bhootani, Khurram Shahzad, Wajiha Akram, Sajida Begum, Tahira Aurangzeb, Syed Javed Ali Shah Jillani and Syed Agha Rafiullah.
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